The concept of a front opening holster including wire spring members having a pair of legs extending from a bight at the bottom of the holster to the upper region is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,420, referenced above. This patented design plus the improvement shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,293 has added a new dimension to the front opening holster in that uniform closing forces throughout the length of the holster are obtained allowing a smooth forward draw. This feature in combination with cylinder recesses to prevent the weapon from being drawn upward and out by other persons has resulted in a major safety feature. The value of an elongated wire spring for closing of the front opening is now well recognized.
In the field of shoulder holsters, it has been the common practice to support the weapon in the upright or horizontal position. One example of this appears in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,315. Other holsters have supported a short barrel revolver or automatics in an inverted position. Holsters designed for inverted mounting in this manner normally are withdrawn in an unnatural motion which is partly forward and partly down as compared with the front opening holster as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,630,420 and 3,749,293 referenced above. Therefore it is apparent that the requirements of the two types of holsters are different and have never been reliably obtained in the same holster. Heretofore inverted shoulder holsters also suffered from the weakness of fatigue of elastic closures and of the leather, allowing the weapon to fall.
One additional limitation which has been prevalent in holsters of all designs except for that disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,315 is that the holsters are characteristically designed for one mode of operation on one side of the user.